DOE asks players to bring fuel stations to remote areas

CEBU, Philippines – Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras explains that competition and transportation cost are factors why gasoline prices in Cebu is more expensive than in other parts of the country.

Almendras, who was in Cebu to receive a Garbo sa Sugbo award along with others in celebration of the Capitol's founding anniversary, told reporters that he already asked all the gasoline companies why the price of gasoline in Cebu is not the same in all other places.

The industry players told him that places where there's not much competition such as remote areas normally have higher prices.

He said that the energy department is now asking the independent or small companies to start bringing fuel or gas stations in the remote areas.

Almendras added that the country imports oil from Singapore and these are first brought to Manila before reaching Cebu, so the transport cost is higher.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who had filed a case in May 2009 against the big oil firms for overpricing, had been told a similar thing in the previous months. But she did not buy these explanations.

She had said in previous interviews that representatives from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp. and Chevron Corp. were not able to justify the discrepancies in prices of fuel.

Fuel prices in Cebu is higher by P5 to P8 than those of Metro Manila and Mindanao, so the firms could not cite higher transportation cost because Mindanao is farther than Cebu.

The complaint was also signed by officials of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue City Chamber of Commerce, Filipino Business Chamber of Commerce and Lapu-Lapu City Business Chamber of Commerce.

The business chambers in Cebu cried fowl over the price discrepancy, stating that higher oil prices here have placed the Cebu business sector and the entire Cebuano population at a disadvantage. (THE FREEMAN)